Disclaimer: Wish I owned Tasuki, but guess what? I don't. . . ah life is
cruel. Fushigi Yuugi and its characters are the copyright of Yuu Watase and
Co. (whoever Co. are. . . )
A/N: Gomen Gomen!!! I've just re-read chapter 1 and oh boy. I didn't know that that there were so many spelling errors. I was kinda in a hurry and had to catch my bus so I just posted it without re-reading it. I've corrected them now but there still may be some. So, sorry for those too. I seriously need to get myself a beta-reader (well actually I have one, but she's not doing her job.) *~A Bandit's Most Precious Treasure~*
Chapter 2: Trouble Brewing In The Air
Meanwhile. . .
"Is everything ready for the attack soldier?" A well-built man, with black hair and silver eyes asked the soldier knelt down before him.
"Hai Sir! In few days, they will regret what they did to us a few years ago. They shall be at our complete mercy," answered a man dressed in complete black.
"Good, good. Did you find out the information that I asked you about?" inquired the evil looking male.
"Yes Sir! But one of our men perished in the process. Eikens was killed."
"Ah! So that bastard is finally dead. Good, good, I was hoping that he would get caught. Well what are you waiting for soldier? I haven't got all day! What did your spy team find out?"
"Hai! The bandit's most treasured possession seems to be his iron fan that can make fire. Better know under the name of the tessen. So, if we can get our hands on it, he'll probably do anything to get it back. Although I believe that it was with that same weapon he killed our former leader 3 years ago," alleged the spy whose head almost touched the ground now from bowing to his master. "Excuse my curiosity, but does Sir think it wise to attack such a powerful man?"
"Hahaha. . . You think me incompetent for such a task?" laughed the man.
The soldier kneeled yet lower, even if his forehead was already touching the immaculate stone floor.
"Yes, he is powerful I have to admit. But, I'm not as stupid as the former leader. Mark my words servant. Tasuki shall fall. He will be at my mercy," roared the lord with a dangerous red glare in his eyes.
The soldier got up and said almost automatically: "I have complete confidence in you my lord." The warrior retreat silently from the room as if he wanted to get out of his master's sight as quickly as possible.
The malicious man chuckled as he sensed the fear of his soldier. "Yes, tremble, because soon enough, everyone will fear me when I'm through with this pitiful world. Even you Tasuki. . . "
The room became even darker than it initial was. Soon, only a pair of silver eyes could be seen. . .
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Deep in a thick forest, a young girl was ridding in front of a red headed guy with golden eyes and fanged-tooth. The girl seemed to be enjoying herself as she was cheerfully chattering about whatever subject that came to her mind and the bandit was actually listening to her (or at least pretending to).
"I know that is really isn't my business but don't you think that stealing from people is wrong?" asked the girl. She waited for an answer but nothing came. Ayomi turned around to look at the bandit and noticed that he wasn't even listening to her. "Baka!" she said as she pulled on his hair, "did you even catch I word that I was saying?"
"Ow! Let go of me Ayomi!" cried Genrou suddenly waking up from his daydream.
"Only if you hear out what I have to say," teased the girl.
"Ok Ok! I'm all ears. Now let go!"
Ayomi released her hold on the bandit's hair and repeated her question again.
"Oh nah, what we do isn't wrong. We actually even help out the people here. Cuz ya see, at Mt.Leikaku we don't steal from everyone. Only the rich sobs that are too selfish for their own damn good and spend their days thinkin' of ways to become even richer when they don't need the money. Our motto is: Take from the rich to give to the poor. So in the end, we don't really profit from all the stealing since we only keep a little bit for ourselves," answered the bandit.
"Well. . . I guess that it's alright what you guys do. But still. . . no matter how I put it, stealing is still wrong" she couldn't help but be a little hesitant. It was quite normal since in theory it was wrong.
The two of them rode on in silence for a few instants and then. . .
"Hey Tasuki, I think I hear horse hooves. I mean other than ours" The bandit listened carefully and remarked that Ayomi was right.
"Maybe it's my favorite merchant," said Tasuki with a smirk. "It would be mean not to pay him a visit and help him lighten his load."
He turned the horse in the direction from witch the sound was coming from and picked up the pace. Soon enough, they saw two horses pulling a luxurious chart. Ayomi heard the man say to the driver: "Hurry up baka, I'm not paying you to go as slowly as possible. God knows what would happen is one of those filthy bandits caught up with me.'
Ayomi had always been taught not to judge someone on how they treated their equals but on how they acted towards their inferiors. She noticed how the man was cruel with his driver when the later was just doing his job.
"Ok Tasuki, let's go flame him." With that, she urged the horse to move forward and confront the rich merchant.
The bandit looked at her in surprise. 'Man 's this girl weird. One moment she's lecturing me on how bad it 's ta steal and the next, she's doing exactly what she believes is wrong. . . Ah women. . . So complicated.'
As the horse reached it's destination, Ayomi got off the animal and marched straight in front of the moving cart.
"Halt!" she said in a commanding voice as she placed a hand in front of herself as a sign for the wagon to stop.
The wealthy man popped his head out of the buggy's curtains and shouted to his driver: "Why are we stopping servant?" He did not notice Ayomi's presence. "From what I can tell, we're not even close from the capital. So unless you have a brain problem, get a move on it!"
The driver didn't budge. He couldn't just run over her no matter what his master's wishes were. "I'm sorry Sir, but there is this young lady in front of the horses and she doesn't seem to want to move."
The commerce man popped his head once again from his window and looked at Ayomi. She was quite an imposing figure with her out worldly clothes and the expression of authority shown in her face. "Get out of the way you wretched girl!"
Ayomi didn't lose her cool and responded in a calm voice: "I don't think that you're going to get much people to obey you if you speak to they of the sort.
He was very annoyed. "I don't care what it takes, run over her if you must but get going!" He closed the curtains and waited for the team to make a move but nothing happened. His ugly face came out of the window again but this time, it showed that he was furious. Since he was too lazy to actually get up and do something, the merchant screamed at his driver: "You good for nothing slave. When I order something, I expect it to be done without any questions. If you don't stir, then when we get back, I'll give you the beating you deserve."
The poor guy didn't know what to do. If he obeyed this master, then he might harm the girl. But if he didn't. . . god knows what may happen to him. . .
Tasuki was, in the meantime, enjoying the scene from behind the trees. He had to admire Ayomi's courage and her determination to do whatever it took to get what she desired. But it was time for him to butt in. He didn't want to see her get hurt, that is if the driver actually decided to run over her. 'Ah.it's time for super Genrou to come to the rescue'
With that, he came out from behind where he was hiding and stood beside Ayomi. "Well, well, well, isn't it our favorite goldmine?"
The merchant suddenly noticed Tasuki's presence and began to tremble. "What the hell do you want filth? I want nothing to do with the likes of you. Get out of my way."
Genrou chuckled while he took out his tessen and pointed it at the man: "I don't think so, cuz ya see, this is MY forest, MY property and whoever passed here has ta pay a fee. So you have two options. If ya want ta go on, I'll have to lighten your load. If ya refuse ta cooperate, then you can always turn around and flee. But I warn ya; my hands seem ta get out of control when they're in the presence of cowards. So, I wouldn't be surprised if your buggy would just catch fire."
Tasuki knew perfectly well that the merchant would do exactly as he asked. He was too afraid of him. And sure enough, the seller gave an abandoning sigh and grunted his chauffeur instructions.
During all this time, Ayomi hadn't bulged from where she was standing. She watched as the driver gave Tasuki the gold that he asked for and she frowned at the reaction of the fat seller during the whole process. He was not happy and she guessed that he was probably going to make a plaint to the police or something of that kind. When Genrou was satisfied with the sum, the girl kindly stepped out of the way and waited for them to depart.
When they were out of view, Ayomi suddenly realized what she had actually done. 'Did I really just help a bandit steal from someone? What would my mother say?' She hit a hand on her forehead while saying: "Baka! What did I just do? I helped a lawbreaker commit a crime! Ah! I don't wanna go to jail. I'm to young! Tasuki, you're bad influence! Soon, I'll be murdering someone." She glanced at the bandit reproachfully.
Tasuki laughed and added sarcastically: "Aw. . . don't worry Ayomi, if someone comes to take ya away, I'll protect you. Or at least, I'll make sure that they'll put you in a nice cell with almost no rats."
Ayomi glared at him dangerously but he escaped just in time before she got a chance to hit him.
"We gotta get going if ya wanna reach the base before it gets too dark ta see anything." He remarked as he called the horse to his side and hoisted the girl on to it.
Ayomi was still quite nervous. "How can you act so cool when we're probably gonna get arrested for stealing? I mean I don't think the merchant will just forget what happened to him and I'm pretty sure that he's gonna go tell the police about it.
Tasuki sat behind her and kicked off, making sure that the person in front of him wasn't going to fall. "Ah. . . you shouldn't worry as much. Didn't I tell you that I was a Suzaku seishi? I don't think the empress is gonna throw me into jail when I helped ta save her country a few years ago. Besides, what we did wasn't wrong. The empress even approves of it. Says that if keeps a balance between the rich and poor. But no one is supposed ta know that. Don't wanna encourage young kids ta steal."
Ayomi was regaining her cool with each one of Tasuki's words. 'He's right, I shouldn't be so nervous.' But she couldn't help wondering why a woman was leading the country. Only men ruled in Ancient China. "Hey Tasuki, why did you say empress instead of emperor. Is it normal for woman to rule Konan?"
"No, but the future emperor is to young. Boushin's only 3. He'll claim his title when he's old enough. Hotohori wouldn't have wanted his 3 year old son to govern this country," answered the bandit.
"Was Hotohori another seishi?" asked the girl.
"Yeah, we were all close friends. But he died heroically in the war leaving his wife and child to rule the country." Tasuki looked up at the starry night sky and prayed for happiness to all his fellow seishi that were gone.
Ayomi could tell that the bandit missed his friends a lot. 'It must have been hard to watch so many of them die. I must say that I'm quite surprised that fang-boy can care so much for someone. I guess he does have a soft side to him,' thought Ayomi with a smile.
The night was chilly and considering the fact that the girl didn't have much clothes on, she soon began to shiver. Tasuki noticed this and offered Ayomi to take refuge in his long black coat.
"Sorry to be a bother." Ayomi snuggled close to the bandit's chest using the heat of his body to warm her up.
"Nah, it's ok. I don't really mind," answered the bandit. But he couldn't help but blush at the fact that Ayomi had turned around and was laying on his chest for some warmth. He never had a woman come so close to him before. He could feel the pressure and warmness of her body as well as sense the softness of her skin. 'Kinda nice,' he had to admit. . .
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When the horse reached the mountain hideout, the moon was shinning brightly in the night sky and the atmosphere gave a very serene feeling.
As they reached the stable, the red headed bandit helped Ayomi get off the horse and drove the animal to its stall where he feed it and watered it.
Ayomi was back to her joyful self again. She had stopped worrying about the robbery that she had just help commit. Although, she was quite hungry and waited impatiently as Tasuki finished tending to the animal.
As he stepped out of the stall, the girl grabbed his sleeve and pulled him hastily to the kitchen. "Hurry up Tasuki-kun, I can hear the food calling my name. I just hope that the other bandits didn't eat up everything."
"Damn, slow down Ayomi! Even if they did, I can ask the cook ta make some more. Boy ya'r just like Miaka; always wanting to stuff something in her mouth. . . " the bandit answered sweat dropping.
"What is that suppose to imply? That I'm a pig? Well it's not my fault if I'm hungry; I haven't eaten anything since breakfast. Besides, I used up a lot of energy today facing up to that merchant." Ayomi quickened up her pace even more.
When they finally reached the kitchen, they found it empty except for the cook busy cleaning up the place. Ayomi almost fainted when she saw 'no food' was waiting for them on a table. 'Life is cruel.'
Tasuki ordered the cook to make something fast while he lead Ayomi to a nearby table. "Don't kill yourself yet. The food's on its way. In the meantime, want some sake?" The bandit smiled an excited grin and took out a bottle of alcohol with two cup and began pouring.
Normally, Ayomi would have refused but she was so hungry that it didn't matter to her anymore what was going down her throat. As long as it filled her tummy, everything was good. So, she seized the cup of sake and took it down in one shoot. It tasted bitter at first but after a while, it wasn't bad. At gave her the impression of not being hungry anymore. She was quite satisfied and poured herself another cup.
"Don't drink to much do ya?" asked the bandit still on his first shoot. "You shouldn't do that you know, you'll get sick and wont be able to walk and all." He frowned as Ayomi took down another one. "Man this 's why I hate girls. When ya tell them not ta do something, they go on and do it anyway. Oh well, she'll have to learn the hard way. . . " He sighed and decided to join her in the world or spirits. But not too much though because he figured that he'll have to carry her back to the room when the night was over.
When the food arrived, Ayomi didn't eat as much as Tasuki would have expected from her. She was busy pouring down the sake.
After a while, things began to get cloudy and the world around the young girl seemed to turn dizzily. "Tasuki.I think I need to lie down. . . " The world didn't seem so friendly anymore. 'Nothing a good night of sleep won't solve. . . ' she thought with a certain assurance.
Ayomi tried to get up and walk towards the door but before talking more than two steps, she fell down. She tried getting up again but no luck. . .
Tasuki knew that this was going to happen sooner or later. He sighed, got up from the table, picked up the girl effortlessly and carried her to his room.
When he reached the bed and had laid her down on it, he found that she was already asleep. Tasuki gently pulled some blankets over her and tucked her in. Now the problem was where was he going to sleep? He had forgotten to ask someone to make an extra bed. He couldn't possibly sleep in the same one as her. Then again why not? Besides, it wasn't like if he was going to do anything to her. At that moment, the idea sounded perfectly fine (maybe because he was a little drunk and not thinking clearly). So, he took of his shoes and shirt, lifted the covers and laid down beside the girl where he soon fell asleep. . .
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When Tasuki woke up sometime before the break of dawn, he had forgotten all about last night's events. Therefore, he forgotten that there was a pretty girl sleeping beside him.
As he tried to get up, he found it hard to move his chest. He looked down and discovered a woman laying on him. Her head was on his chest and one of her legs somehow was between his own two. It was fortunate that everything come back to him on the spot, because he was ready to curse and push Ayomi off of him. Which would have woken her up. Instead, he ran a hand trough her silky black hair and gently took her by the waist and moved her off of him. As her face became visible, Tasuki stopped to admire her. Looking at her made him happy and he didn't know why. No actually, he suspected that he was falling for her but just didn't want to admit it to himself.
He remembered how brave and determined Ayomi was yesterday when she had faced that bastard. He had never met anyone like her before. Not even Miaka or Reirei. Not to mention what a beauty she was. Without knowing what he was doing, the bandit lowered his head and pressed his lips on her forehead. 'So soft. . . '
He got up, took his shoes and shirt and went to dress outside, where he watched the sun beginning to rise from behind the hills. But somehow, his thoughts always seemed to wonder back to the girl sleeping in his bed. 'Damit! I gotta stop thinking of her like that, don't wanna fall in love with her now. . . ' he chuckled at the thought but soon grew serious again. . .
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Once the sun had finished rising and was shinning brightly in the sky, a certain blue eyed girl stirred from her deep sleep and opened her eyes. But as she did so, her head began to hurt and she couldn't remember a thing that had happened last night. All she remembered was Tasuki pouring her a cup of sake. . .
Ayomi tried to get up but found it impossible to lift her head. It felt like it weighted ten tons. 'What was I thinking getting drunk like that? I don't even like alcohol. Have to remind myself never to get drunk again. . . ' As soon as she had said that, a red headed man came into the room with a large bucket of cold water. He put it down on the floor and came to sit beside Ayomi.
"So, how ya feeling? Not too good eh?" he inquired as he placed a hand on her forehead.
Ayomi looked up at him and muttered, "I can't get up, my head weights like ten tons and it hurts like shit. . . I feel great!"
"Told ya not to drink that much last night. But did you listen to wise Genrou?" He smiled at her and helped her sit up. "Come and soak your head in the cold water. Believe me it'll help." He lifted her up and brought her to the pail. Where she dumped her head in.
"Feeling better?" A nod. "Good now come with me and I'll get ya some food. Ya must be hungry."
Ayomi wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his strong shoulders. Tasuki sighed, lifted her up and carried the girl piggyback style to the kitchen.
Along the way, several of the men gave a high-pitched whistle seeing the pair. The bandit tried to ignore them but still, he turned a shade of red.
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As they reached the kitchen, Ayomi soon forgot about her headache and began drooling at the sight of all the delicious food lain before her. Tasuki set her down on one of the benches and watched as she began putting piles of food on her plate. "Eh, you really gonna eat all that?" He gestured to the stack of chow that was on her plate.
"Of course I am baka!" She made no further comment and started stuffing the food down her throat.
Tasuki watched the girl for a few moments and then told her, "Oh and Ayomi! I hope ya don't mind if I leave ya here for the day. Some people down at the village are saying that the Mt.Kaou bandits wanna raid us. I'm gonna go check it out today."
Ayomi lifted her head from the grub for a few seconds to ask: "Who are the Mt.Kaou bandits?" And then went back to chewing.
"Well, they're the thieves on the other Mountain. Old time enemies. And bastards too if ya ask me, they steal from everyone that comes along their path. If the victims don't have the money, then they would kidnap them and sell them as slaves." Tasuki's voice deepened as he said those words. He seemed to be recalling a bad memory that was related to the Mt.Kaou bandits.
"Why would they want to raid us? Aren't they rich enough if they steal from everybody?" Ayomi suddenly stopped eating and gave her attention to what the redhead was going to say next.
"It's a long story, but I'll make a brief summary for ya. You see, they might be more rich than us but they certainly don't have as much power." He took out his tessen and laid it on the table. "The only thing that the Mt.Kaou thieves have every wanted, but never got was this tessen. They've tried ta steal it a couple of times but got flamed instead." He closed his eyes and continued. "The last time those bastards tried, they almost succeeded. But Reirei, the Mt.Kaou leader's lil sister, died trying to get it back for us. Cuz she decided ta join us instead and ah. . . long story. I think he liked her very much because he gave up after her death."
A/N: I didn't write up the whole story of Tasuki's childhood. Way to long and it might bore those who have already read it. But if you want to know more, read the GenrouDen. You can find it on the web using a browser or you can always ask me for the url. Ok, bacl to story. . .
At that moment, Tasuki clenched his hands into to tight fists and hit them hard to the table making Ayomi jump up, startled. "If it wasn't for me, she'd still. . . she'd still. . . " He started cursing under his breath while the girl observed him silently.
She guessed that something must have happened between the two of them. And that if she were still living today, Tasuki-Chan would be a less lonesome man. 'He must have cared for her in a certain way. And I think that even after all these years, he still blames himself for her death.'
Ayomi wanted to comfort him in some way. She hated seeing him so miserable. 'What can I say to him? Gosh, I was never a good person for these kinds of things.' She gazed into Tasuki's golden eyes and put one of her hands on his fist.
"Tasuki," she started, choosing her words carefully, "I'm guessing that Reirei was a very dear person to you." A nod. "And I know that you probably still blame yourself for her death, but it wasn't your fault. You didn't force her to sacrifice her life to help you and I don't think that she died regretting her decision. Besides, I'm sure that Reirei wouldn't be too happy if she learned that you were spending the rest of your life mourning over her. . . because I wouldn't," she added quickly. "Gomen, I'm not really good at these kinds of speeches. . . I hope I didn't make you feel any worse." She awkwardly lowered her eyes and stared at the table.
Tasuki had to admit that no; she wasn't too good at making people feel less guilty. But still, he appreciated the fact that she cared enough for him to try to console him. He opened his clenched fists and grabbed the girl into a tight hug. Holding her like this made him feel better.
Ayomi was surprised at first but didn't pull back. For some reason, she liked being hugged by this fang-toothed bandit. 'So warm. . . '
But. . . excited murmuring and coughing made them come back to reality. They had completely forgotten that other people were in the room. The pair pulled away from each other and blushed furiously. "
"I think we should leave," proposed the young lady getting up from her bench.
"Oh I almost forgot! I have someone for you to meet." Tasuki eagerly dragged her outside to a small statue that was dedicated to Suzaku. It was small but still, it gave an impression of importance. At the bottom of the monument, essence was burning. The statue looked fairly new. "It was probably built a few years ago it was built quite recently", the girl stated to herslef. And beside the monument, an old man with dark features was waiting for them.
"Sorry, breakfast took longer than expected," explained Tasuki. "Ayomi, I want you to met Hanaki. Hanaki, Ayomi" He said as he introduced both of them to each other. "He'll watch over you from unpleasant people while I'm gone today."
Ayomi glanced up at the old man. He looked quite friendly but was very old. And frankly, she didn't know who was supposed to baby-sit whom.
The old man detected the doubt in Ayomi's eyes and reassured her, "Miss must think that such and old man as I can't be of much use." Ayomi vigorously shook her head in disagreement but was quite embarrassed that the old man had guessed her thoughts.
"But Miss can be reassured," continued Hanaki, "I am one of the best fighters around her. I also used to teach Tasuki-sama but he no longer needs my aid."
Ayomi's eyes widened and began to sparkle. "Wai! Will you be able to teach me to? I've always wanted to learn martial-arts," she asked excitedly.
"Of course, if that is what Miss wishes," answered the man.
Tasuki sighed and sincerely hoped that the girl would not break her neck in the process. Ayomi, in the meantime began jumping up and down in excitement. The bandit, having finished what he was here to do, was ready to depart. But first, he said good-bye to Ayomi and told the old man to teach anyone that was making any trouble a lesson that they wouldn't forget.
With that, he left her in the hands of the old man and went to investigate the Kaou matter. But before he was out of sight, Ayomi couldn't help but shout: "Good-bye Tasuki-chan!!!"
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A/N: Gomen Gomen!!! I've just re-read chapter 1 and oh boy. I didn't know that that there were so many spelling errors. I was kinda in a hurry and had to catch my bus so I just posted it without re-reading it. I've corrected them now but there still may be some. So, sorry for those too. I seriously need to get myself a beta-reader (well actually I have one, but she's not doing her job.) *~A Bandit's Most Precious Treasure~*
Chapter 2: Trouble Brewing In The Air
Meanwhile. . .
"Is everything ready for the attack soldier?" A well-built man, with black hair and silver eyes asked the soldier knelt down before him.
"Hai Sir! In few days, they will regret what they did to us a few years ago. They shall be at our complete mercy," answered a man dressed in complete black.
"Good, good. Did you find out the information that I asked you about?" inquired the evil looking male.
"Yes Sir! But one of our men perished in the process. Eikens was killed."
"Ah! So that bastard is finally dead. Good, good, I was hoping that he would get caught. Well what are you waiting for soldier? I haven't got all day! What did your spy team find out?"
"Hai! The bandit's most treasured possession seems to be his iron fan that can make fire. Better know under the name of the tessen. So, if we can get our hands on it, he'll probably do anything to get it back. Although I believe that it was with that same weapon he killed our former leader 3 years ago," alleged the spy whose head almost touched the ground now from bowing to his master. "Excuse my curiosity, but does Sir think it wise to attack such a powerful man?"
"Hahaha. . . You think me incompetent for such a task?" laughed the man.
The soldier kneeled yet lower, even if his forehead was already touching the immaculate stone floor.
"Yes, he is powerful I have to admit. But, I'm not as stupid as the former leader. Mark my words servant. Tasuki shall fall. He will be at my mercy," roared the lord with a dangerous red glare in his eyes.
The soldier got up and said almost automatically: "I have complete confidence in you my lord." The warrior retreat silently from the room as if he wanted to get out of his master's sight as quickly as possible.
The malicious man chuckled as he sensed the fear of his soldier. "Yes, tremble, because soon enough, everyone will fear me when I'm through with this pitiful world. Even you Tasuki. . . "
The room became even darker than it initial was. Soon, only a pair of silver eyes could be seen. . .
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Deep in a thick forest, a young girl was ridding in front of a red headed guy with golden eyes and fanged-tooth. The girl seemed to be enjoying herself as she was cheerfully chattering about whatever subject that came to her mind and the bandit was actually listening to her (or at least pretending to).
"I know that is really isn't my business but don't you think that stealing from people is wrong?" asked the girl. She waited for an answer but nothing came. Ayomi turned around to look at the bandit and noticed that he wasn't even listening to her. "Baka!" she said as she pulled on his hair, "did you even catch I word that I was saying?"
"Ow! Let go of me Ayomi!" cried Genrou suddenly waking up from his daydream.
"Only if you hear out what I have to say," teased the girl.
"Ok Ok! I'm all ears. Now let go!"
Ayomi released her hold on the bandit's hair and repeated her question again.
"Oh nah, what we do isn't wrong. We actually even help out the people here. Cuz ya see, at Mt.Leikaku we don't steal from everyone. Only the rich sobs that are too selfish for their own damn good and spend their days thinkin' of ways to become even richer when they don't need the money. Our motto is: Take from the rich to give to the poor. So in the end, we don't really profit from all the stealing since we only keep a little bit for ourselves," answered the bandit.
"Well. . . I guess that it's alright what you guys do. But still. . . no matter how I put it, stealing is still wrong" she couldn't help but be a little hesitant. It was quite normal since in theory it was wrong.
The two of them rode on in silence for a few instants and then. . .
"Hey Tasuki, I think I hear horse hooves. I mean other than ours" The bandit listened carefully and remarked that Ayomi was right.
"Maybe it's my favorite merchant," said Tasuki with a smirk. "It would be mean not to pay him a visit and help him lighten his load."
He turned the horse in the direction from witch the sound was coming from and picked up the pace. Soon enough, they saw two horses pulling a luxurious chart. Ayomi heard the man say to the driver: "Hurry up baka, I'm not paying you to go as slowly as possible. God knows what would happen is one of those filthy bandits caught up with me.'
Ayomi had always been taught not to judge someone on how they treated their equals but on how they acted towards their inferiors. She noticed how the man was cruel with his driver when the later was just doing his job.
"Ok Tasuki, let's go flame him." With that, she urged the horse to move forward and confront the rich merchant.
The bandit looked at her in surprise. 'Man 's this girl weird. One moment she's lecturing me on how bad it 's ta steal and the next, she's doing exactly what she believes is wrong. . . Ah women. . . So complicated.'
As the horse reached it's destination, Ayomi got off the animal and marched straight in front of the moving cart.
"Halt!" she said in a commanding voice as she placed a hand in front of herself as a sign for the wagon to stop.
The wealthy man popped his head out of the buggy's curtains and shouted to his driver: "Why are we stopping servant?" He did not notice Ayomi's presence. "From what I can tell, we're not even close from the capital. So unless you have a brain problem, get a move on it!"
The driver didn't budge. He couldn't just run over her no matter what his master's wishes were. "I'm sorry Sir, but there is this young lady in front of the horses and she doesn't seem to want to move."
The commerce man popped his head once again from his window and looked at Ayomi. She was quite an imposing figure with her out worldly clothes and the expression of authority shown in her face. "Get out of the way you wretched girl!"
Ayomi didn't lose her cool and responded in a calm voice: "I don't think that you're going to get much people to obey you if you speak to they of the sort.
He was very annoyed. "I don't care what it takes, run over her if you must but get going!" He closed the curtains and waited for the team to make a move but nothing happened. His ugly face came out of the window again but this time, it showed that he was furious. Since he was too lazy to actually get up and do something, the merchant screamed at his driver: "You good for nothing slave. When I order something, I expect it to be done without any questions. If you don't stir, then when we get back, I'll give you the beating you deserve."
The poor guy didn't know what to do. If he obeyed this master, then he might harm the girl. But if he didn't. . . god knows what may happen to him. . .
Tasuki was, in the meantime, enjoying the scene from behind the trees. He had to admire Ayomi's courage and her determination to do whatever it took to get what she desired. But it was time for him to butt in. He didn't want to see her get hurt, that is if the driver actually decided to run over her. 'Ah.it's time for super Genrou to come to the rescue'
With that, he came out from behind where he was hiding and stood beside Ayomi. "Well, well, well, isn't it our favorite goldmine?"
The merchant suddenly noticed Tasuki's presence and began to tremble. "What the hell do you want filth? I want nothing to do with the likes of you. Get out of my way."
Genrou chuckled while he took out his tessen and pointed it at the man: "I don't think so, cuz ya see, this is MY forest, MY property and whoever passed here has ta pay a fee. So you have two options. If ya want ta go on, I'll have to lighten your load. If ya refuse ta cooperate, then you can always turn around and flee. But I warn ya; my hands seem ta get out of control when they're in the presence of cowards. So, I wouldn't be surprised if your buggy would just catch fire."
Tasuki knew perfectly well that the merchant would do exactly as he asked. He was too afraid of him. And sure enough, the seller gave an abandoning sigh and grunted his chauffeur instructions.
During all this time, Ayomi hadn't bulged from where she was standing. She watched as the driver gave Tasuki the gold that he asked for and she frowned at the reaction of the fat seller during the whole process. He was not happy and she guessed that he was probably going to make a plaint to the police or something of that kind. When Genrou was satisfied with the sum, the girl kindly stepped out of the way and waited for them to depart.
When they were out of view, Ayomi suddenly realized what she had actually done. 'Did I really just help a bandit steal from someone? What would my mother say?' She hit a hand on her forehead while saying: "Baka! What did I just do? I helped a lawbreaker commit a crime! Ah! I don't wanna go to jail. I'm to young! Tasuki, you're bad influence! Soon, I'll be murdering someone." She glanced at the bandit reproachfully.
Tasuki laughed and added sarcastically: "Aw. . . don't worry Ayomi, if someone comes to take ya away, I'll protect you. Or at least, I'll make sure that they'll put you in a nice cell with almost no rats."
Ayomi glared at him dangerously but he escaped just in time before she got a chance to hit him.
"We gotta get going if ya wanna reach the base before it gets too dark ta see anything." He remarked as he called the horse to his side and hoisted the girl on to it.
Ayomi was still quite nervous. "How can you act so cool when we're probably gonna get arrested for stealing? I mean I don't think the merchant will just forget what happened to him and I'm pretty sure that he's gonna go tell the police about it.
Tasuki sat behind her and kicked off, making sure that the person in front of him wasn't going to fall. "Ah. . . you shouldn't worry as much. Didn't I tell you that I was a Suzaku seishi? I don't think the empress is gonna throw me into jail when I helped ta save her country a few years ago. Besides, what we did wasn't wrong. The empress even approves of it. Says that if keeps a balance between the rich and poor. But no one is supposed ta know that. Don't wanna encourage young kids ta steal."
Ayomi was regaining her cool with each one of Tasuki's words. 'He's right, I shouldn't be so nervous.' But she couldn't help wondering why a woman was leading the country. Only men ruled in Ancient China. "Hey Tasuki, why did you say empress instead of emperor. Is it normal for woman to rule Konan?"
"No, but the future emperor is to young. Boushin's only 3. He'll claim his title when he's old enough. Hotohori wouldn't have wanted his 3 year old son to govern this country," answered the bandit.
"Was Hotohori another seishi?" asked the girl.
"Yeah, we were all close friends. But he died heroically in the war leaving his wife and child to rule the country." Tasuki looked up at the starry night sky and prayed for happiness to all his fellow seishi that were gone.
Ayomi could tell that the bandit missed his friends a lot. 'It must have been hard to watch so many of them die. I must say that I'm quite surprised that fang-boy can care so much for someone. I guess he does have a soft side to him,' thought Ayomi with a smile.
The night was chilly and considering the fact that the girl didn't have much clothes on, she soon began to shiver. Tasuki noticed this and offered Ayomi to take refuge in his long black coat.
"Sorry to be a bother." Ayomi snuggled close to the bandit's chest using the heat of his body to warm her up.
"Nah, it's ok. I don't really mind," answered the bandit. But he couldn't help but blush at the fact that Ayomi had turned around and was laying on his chest for some warmth. He never had a woman come so close to him before. He could feel the pressure and warmness of her body as well as sense the softness of her skin. 'Kinda nice,' he had to admit. . .
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When the horse reached the mountain hideout, the moon was shinning brightly in the night sky and the atmosphere gave a very serene feeling.
As they reached the stable, the red headed bandit helped Ayomi get off the horse and drove the animal to its stall where he feed it and watered it.
Ayomi was back to her joyful self again. She had stopped worrying about the robbery that she had just help commit. Although, she was quite hungry and waited impatiently as Tasuki finished tending to the animal.
As he stepped out of the stall, the girl grabbed his sleeve and pulled him hastily to the kitchen. "Hurry up Tasuki-kun, I can hear the food calling my name. I just hope that the other bandits didn't eat up everything."
"Damn, slow down Ayomi! Even if they did, I can ask the cook ta make some more. Boy ya'r just like Miaka; always wanting to stuff something in her mouth. . . " the bandit answered sweat dropping.
"What is that suppose to imply? That I'm a pig? Well it's not my fault if I'm hungry; I haven't eaten anything since breakfast. Besides, I used up a lot of energy today facing up to that merchant." Ayomi quickened up her pace even more.
When they finally reached the kitchen, they found it empty except for the cook busy cleaning up the place. Ayomi almost fainted when she saw 'no food' was waiting for them on a table. 'Life is cruel.'
Tasuki ordered the cook to make something fast while he lead Ayomi to a nearby table. "Don't kill yourself yet. The food's on its way. In the meantime, want some sake?" The bandit smiled an excited grin and took out a bottle of alcohol with two cup and began pouring.
Normally, Ayomi would have refused but she was so hungry that it didn't matter to her anymore what was going down her throat. As long as it filled her tummy, everything was good. So, she seized the cup of sake and took it down in one shoot. It tasted bitter at first but after a while, it wasn't bad. At gave her the impression of not being hungry anymore. She was quite satisfied and poured herself another cup.
"Don't drink to much do ya?" asked the bandit still on his first shoot. "You shouldn't do that you know, you'll get sick and wont be able to walk and all." He frowned as Ayomi took down another one. "Man this 's why I hate girls. When ya tell them not ta do something, they go on and do it anyway. Oh well, she'll have to learn the hard way. . . " He sighed and decided to join her in the world or spirits. But not too much though because he figured that he'll have to carry her back to the room when the night was over.
When the food arrived, Ayomi didn't eat as much as Tasuki would have expected from her. She was busy pouring down the sake.
After a while, things began to get cloudy and the world around the young girl seemed to turn dizzily. "Tasuki.I think I need to lie down. . . " The world didn't seem so friendly anymore. 'Nothing a good night of sleep won't solve. . . ' she thought with a certain assurance.
Ayomi tried to get up and walk towards the door but before talking more than two steps, she fell down. She tried getting up again but no luck. . .
Tasuki knew that this was going to happen sooner or later. He sighed, got up from the table, picked up the girl effortlessly and carried her to his room.
When he reached the bed and had laid her down on it, he found that she was already asleep. Tasuki gently pulled some blankets over her and tucked her in. Now the problem was where was he going to sleep? He had forgotten to ask someone to make an extra bed. He couldn't possibly sleep in the same one as her. Then again why not? Besides, it wasn't like if he was going to do anything to her. At that moment, the idea sounded perfectly fine (maybe because he was a little drunk and not thinking clearly). So, he took of his shoes and shirt, lifted the covers and laid down beside the girl where he soon fell asleep. . .
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When Tasuki woke up sometime before the break of dawn, he had forgotten all about last night's events. Therefore, he forgotten that there was a pretty girl sleeping beside him.
As he tried to get up, he found it hard to move his chest. He looked down and discovered a woman laying on him. Her head was on his chest and one of her legs somehow was between his own two. It was fortunate that everything come back to him on the spot, because he was ready to curse and push Ayomi off of him. Which would have woken her up. Instead, he ran a hand trough her silky black hair and gently took her by the waist and moved her off of him. As her face became visible, Tasuki stopped to admire her. Looking at her made him happy and he didn't know why. No actually, he suspected that he was falling for her but just didn't want to admit it to himself.
He remembered how brave and determined Ayomi was yesterday when she had faced that bastard. He had never met anyone like her before. Not even Miaka or Reirei. Not to mention what a beauty she was. Without knowing what he was doing, the bandit lowered his head and pressed his lips on her forehead. 'So soft. . . '
He got up, took his shoes and shirt and went to dress outside, where he watched the sun beginning to rise from behind the hills. But somehow, his thoughts always seemed to wonder back to the girl sleeping in his bed. 'Damit! I gotta stop thinking of her like that, don't wanna fall in love with her now. . . ' he chuckled at the thought but soon grew serious again. . .
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Once the sun had finished rising and was shinning brightly in the sky, a certain blue eyed girl stirred from her deep sleep and opened her eyes. But as she did so, her head began to hurt and she couldn't remember a thing that had happened last night. All she remembered was Tasuki pouring her a cup of sake. . .
Ayomi tried to get up but found it impossible to lift her head. It felt like it weighted ten tons. 'What was I thinking getting drunk like that? I don't even like alcohol. Have to remind myself never to get drunk again. . . ' As soon as she had said that, a red headed man came into the room with a large bucket of cold water. He put it down on the floor and came to sit beside Ayomi.
"So, how ya feeling? Not too good eh?" he inquired as he placed a hand on her forehead.
Ayomi looked up at him and muttered, "I can't get up, my head weights like ten tons and it hurts like shit. . . I feel great!"
"Told ya not to drink that much last night. But did you listen to wise Genrou?" He smiled at her and helped her sit up. "Come and soak your head in the cold water. Believe me it'll help." He lifted her up and brought her to the pail. Where she dumped her head in.
"Feeling better?" A nod. "Good now come with me and I'll get ya some food. Ya must be hungry."
Ayomi wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his strong shoulders. Tasuki sighed, lifted her up and carried the girl piggyback style to the kitchen.
Along the way, several of the men gave a high-pitched whistle seeing the pair. The bandit tried to ignore them but still, he turned a shade of red.
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As they reached the kitchen, Ayomi soon forgot about her headache and began drooling at the sight of all the delicious food lain before her. Tasuki set her down on one of the benches and watched as she began putting piles of food on her plate. "Eh, you really gonna eat all that?" He gestured to the stack of chow that was on her plate.
"Of course I am baka!" She made no further comment and started stuffing the food down her throat.
Tasuki watched the girl for a few moments and then told her, "Oh and Ayomi! I hope ya don't mind if I leave ya here for the day. Some people down at the village are saying that the Mt.Kaou bandits wanna raid us. I'm gonna go check it out today."
Ayomi lifted her head from the grub for a few seconds to ask: "Who are the Mt.Kaou bandits?" And then went back to chewing.
"Well, they're the thieves on the other Mountain. Old time enemies. And bastards too if ya ask me, they steal from everyone that comes along their path. If the victims don't have the money, then they would kidnap them and sell them as slaves." Tasuki's voice deepened as he said those words. He seemed to be recalling a bad memory that was related to the Mt.Kaou bandits.
"Why would they want to raid us? Aren't they rich enough if they steal from everybody?" Ayomi suddenly stopped eating and gave her attention to what the redhead was going to say next.
"It's a long story, but I'll make a brief summary for ya. You see, they might be more rich than us but they certainly don't have as much power." He took out his tessen and laid it on the table. "The only thing that the Mt.Kaou thieves have every wanted, but never got was this tessen. They've tried ta steal it a couple of times but got flamed instead." He closed his eyes and continued. "The last time those bastards tried, they almost succeeded. But Reirei, the Mt.Kaou leader's lil sister, died trying to get it back for us. Cuz she decided ta join us instead and ah. . . long story. I think he liked her very much because he gave up after her death."
A/N: I didn't write up the whole story of Tasuki's childhood. Way to long and it might bore those who have already read it. But if you want to know more, read the GenrouDen. You can find it on the web using a browser or you can always ask me for the url. Ok, bacl to story. . .
At that moment, Tasuki clenched his hands into to tight fists and hit them hard to the table making Ayomi jump up, startled. "If it wasn't for me, she'd still. . . she'd still. . . " He started cursing under his breath while the girl observed him silently.
She guessed that something must have happened between the two of them. And that if she were still living today, Tasuki-Chan would be a less lonesome man. 'He must have cared for her in a certain way. And I think that even after all these years, he still blames himself for her death.'
Ayomi wanted to comfort him in some way. She hated seeing him so miserable. 'What can I say to him? Gosh, I was never a good person for these kinds of things.' She gazed into Tasuki's golden eyes and put one of her hands on his fist.
"Tasuki," she started, choosing her words carefully, "I'm guessing that Reirei was a very dear person to you." A nod. "And I know that you probably still blame yourself for her death, but it wasn't your fault. You didn't force her to sacrifice her life to help you and I don't think that she died regretting her decision. Besides, I'm sure that Reirei wouldn't be too happy if she learned that you were spending the rest of your life mourning over her. . . because I wouldn't," she added quickly. "Gomen, I'm not really good at these kinds of speeches. . . I hope I didn't make you feel any worse." She awkwardly lowered her eyes and stared at the table.
Tasuki had to admit that no; she wasn't too good at making people feel less guilty. But still, he appreciated the fact that she cared enough for him to try to console him. He opened his clenched fists and grabbed the girl into a tight hug. Holding her like this made him feel better.
Ayomi was surprised at first but didn't pull back. For some reason, she liked being hugged by this fang-toothed bandit. 'So warm. . . '
But. . . excited murmuring and coughing made them come back to reality. They had completely forgotten that other people were in the room. The pair pulled away from each other and blushed furiously. "
"I think we should leave," proposed the young lady getting up from her bench.
"Oh I almost forgot! I have someone for you to meet." Tasuki eagerly dragged her outside to a small statue that was dedicated to Suzaku. It was small but still, it gave an impression of importance. At the bottom of the monument, essence was burning. The statue looked fairly new. "It was probably built a few years ago it was built quite recently", the girl stated to herslef. And beside the monument, an old man with dark features was waiting for them.
"Sorry, breakfast took longer than expected," explained Tasuki. "Ayomi, I want you to met Hanaki. Hanaki, Ayomi" He said as he introduced both of them to each other. "He'll watch over you from unpleasant people while I'm gone today."
Ayomi glanced up at the old man. He looked quite friendly but was very old. And frankly, she didn't know who was supposed to baby-sit whom.
The old man detected the doubt in Ayomi's eyes and reassured her, "Miss must think that such and old man as I can't be of much use." Ayomi vigorously shook her head in disagreement but was quite embarrassed that the old man had guessed her thoughts.
"But Miss can be reassured," continued Hanaki, "I am one of the best fighters around her. I also used to teach Tasuki-sama but he no longer needs my aid."
Ayomi's eyes widened and began to sparkle. "Wai! Will you be able to teach me to? I've always wanted to learn martial-arts," she asked excitedly.
"Of course, if that is what Miss wishes," answered the man.
Tasuki sighed and sincerely hoped that the girl would not break her neck in the process. Ayomi, in the meantime began jumping up and down in excitement. The bandit, having finished what he was here to do, was ready to depart. But first, he said good-bye to Ayomi and told the old man to teach anyone that was making any trouble a lesson that they wouldn't forget.
With that, he left her in the hands of the old man and went to investigate the Kaou matter. But before he was out of sight, Ayomi couldn't help but shout: "Good-bye Tasuki-chan!!!"
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